


Of Sticky Notes and Rings

by Diary



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Bechdel Test Fail, Canon Gay Character, Conversations, Established Reid Oliver/Luke Snyder, Established Relationship, Love, M/M, POV Multiple, Reid Oliver Lives, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 14:19:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6082557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repost. “I found a sticky pad, and most of it was about me.” Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Sticky Notes and Rings

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own As the World Turns.

“I’m not Doctor Oliver,” Luke says.

There’s a vague shifting noise.

“Doctor Oliver’s in the cafeteria. They’re having black onion soup,” he continues.

A tentative head pokes out.

“It’s alright. Just come out. I need to get some stuff from his office.”

Elliot Winchester, a nine-year-old cancer patient who’s taken to rearranging Reid’s pens, books, and colour-coordinated boxes of candy, fully appears. Reid once stole his brownie, and since then, child and neurosurgeon have been engaged in an epic battle. Reid’s contribution is putting Elliot’s toys on high shelves, having his favourite sheets replaced with regular hospital ones, and volunteering him to change the diaper of Allie’s new baby.

Once Elliot has skipped off, Luke rearranges the pens and books, finds his car keys, and accidentally knocks over a large sticky pad. Picking it up, he sets it back and reads: _Don’t tell him you love him._

Curious, Luke carefully peels the sticky note up.

_Noah Mayer’s coming; don’t ask him to move in._

_Don’t go to the wedding._

_Don’t go to his mother’s party._

_Don’t yell._

_Don’t try to retrieve the picture._

_Just walk away and don’t listen._

_Don’t even think of revealing your attraction to that entitled, egoistical, co-dependent brat._

_You probably should have accepted his invitation._

_Don’t cry._

_Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry._

_Tell him about Invicta as soon as possible._

Ignoring the pain at the thought he brought Reid close to crying, never mind he might have been responsible for Reid actually doing so, he takes assessment. Most of them are obviously about him, and the rest are medical jargon or pizza orders. There’s no particular order.

At end, he finds one more.

_Be a man, and fight Angus if you have to; you know you should have been wearing that ring a long time ago._

…

At home, Luke tells Reid, “I need to talk to you about something.”

“I’m not giving the tiny terror his-”

“It’s not about Elliot, and yes, you are,” Luke says. When they sit, he curls against Reid. “Okay, I know, when people say: I wasn’t snooping, it usually means they were snooping, but I didn’t really think it was snooping when I did it.”

“You’re babbling,” Reid declares.

He rubs the sensitive hairs on the back of Luke’s neck where Luke recently got a haircut, and Luke feels the ring against his neck.

“And I don’t have anything I care about you seeing.”

Trying to control the shivers, Luke scrunches his neck. “I found a sticky pad, and most of it was about me.” Resisting the urge to apologise for whatever he did to cause _don’t cry_ and _don’t yell_ , he reaches up and brings Reid’s hand down so his fingers can trace the ring. “When you went to Boston, you said you were just going to get a chessboard. But the sticky pad made it clear you were also going for this ring.”

Reid stills for a moment. “Most of those things on the sticky pad are things I was confused or conflicted about. You’ll notice I ended up doing the opposite of most of what I told myself not to do.”

“I did go for the chessboard,” Reid continues. “I knew I wanted it, and I knew I was coming back with it. I wasn’t sure about the ring.”

“Okay,” Luke says. “I’m glad. It looks good on you.”

It also makes Reid look married, but Reid doesn’t care. It was his father’s wedding ring, and just as his dad did, Reid wears it on his left ring finger.

Chris once privately made it clear he thought there was something deeper involved, but Luke hadn’t given the thought much credence.

Reid definitely isn’t trying to portray himself as straight, and in truth, out of all of Reid’s quirks, rituals, and disregard for societal expectations, this is one thing Luke doesn’t have trouble understanding. Reid doesn’t remember much about his parents, and it’s only natural he’d want to do something to connect him to them.

Snuggling closer, he adds, “Sorry."

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I kind of did. I- I shouldn’t have gone through the sticky pad once it became clear it was about your personal thoughts and feelings, and I shouldn’t have questioned you about your trip and the ring.”

“I’d rather you question me with an open mind than assume the worst and accuse me,” is the mild reply. “What do you want for dinner tonight?”

…

Angus makes a move on the chessboard. “Did your parents ever tell you how they got engaged?”

“Yeah.”  He counters the move. “Dad refused to ask her until he’d bought rings for both of them. I never understood that.”

“If she said yes, he wanted her to slide a ring on his finger, too.”

“I know that. It just doesn’t make sense to me. He took her to their favourite pizzeria, waited until after they finished eating, and asked her. She put the ring on him, first, and then, he did hers. I’m assuming they weren’t incapable of putting the rings on themselves.”

“Love doesn’t make sense. It’s something we’ve always known.”

True,” he agrees. “I remember, every morning, after breakfast, he’d kiss me, and then, he’d kiss her. She’d slide his ring off and put it on a chain around her neck. He’d kiss her again and leave. When he got back, she’d always slide it back on his finger. Then, they’d kiss." He shakes his head.

“You don’t kiss that boyfriend of yours before you leave and when you get back?”

“It’s not that. I remember things like that, but I don’t remember them arguing or- I must have misbehaved. They must have yelled at me. I must have been angry with them. I know they entered me in tournaments, but I don’t have a clear memory of that, either.”

“You’re lucky,” Angus says. He captures a knight. “Your mom always told me, ‘Keep the good, disregard the bad, life’s too short.’ She was a pathetic dreamer, same as your dad. But I guess people who can manage to do that should. She’d be happy you’ve done that when it comes to them.”

“I never asked to.”

“And those sociopaths who shoot up schools and those people you operate on with malignant tumours, they didn’t, either.”

“Checkmate,” Reid says.

He catches the ring box.

“I always saw more of me than them in you,” Angus says. “But when you walked out of that tournament, I saw your mother. Now, I see your father.”

…

When he gets home, Reid finds Luke working on his laptop on the couch. Setting the chessboard down and taking in the pillows and blankets, he inquires, “Why, do you always sleep on the couch when I’m not here at night? Most hotels don’t have couches, leading me to wonder what you do on business trips.”

“Hey!” Setting the laptop aside, Luke bounces over. “How was everything?”

“I’m putting Nurse Stewart on bedpan duty,” Reid declares. “How many cups have you had?”

“I can have as much coffee as I want.” Luke steals a kiss. “You seem okay. That’s good. I was working on a new proposal.” Bouncing over to the couch, he asks, “Do you have time to look over it now, or do you need to get back to the hospital?”

“Yeah, I have time." He withdraws the ring box from his jeans. “But first, one of the things I also got from Angus was my dad’s wedding ring. I haven’t tried it on, yet. Come help me see if fits.”

“Okay. If it doesn’t, do you want to get it resized?”

Nodding, Reid hands the box to him and holds out his left hand.

“You know that, usually, the left ring finger-”

“I know,” he answers.

Opening the box, Luke withdraws the ring and examines it. “It’s nice." Carefully, he slides the ring on and twists it slightly when it reaches the bottom. “There. Perfect fit.”

“I love you,” Reid breathes out and reaches over to kiss him. “How about, instead of me going to the hospital, I stay here and play doctor?”

Grinning, Luke plays with Reid’s collar. “I love you, too. You know, Chris’ll know that something’s up if you don’t come in soon.”

“And? Unfortunately, everyone has a clear idea why he and Katie were late to that fundraising dinner last week.”

Laughing, Luke starts pulling him to the bedroom. “Come on, then, Dr Oliver.”

…

_“Da, why are you looking at wedding rings? You’re wearing yours, and Mumma’s wearing hers.”_

_Kneeling down, his father brought his hand up to show off his ring. “Someday, you’re going to get married, Reid, and this is going to be yours. I just want some idea of what will replace it for me and Mumma.”_

_“Why would I want to get married?”_

_Laughing, his dad kissed him._

_He squirmed and stuck his tongue out._

_“Someday, little one, you’re going to fall in love with someone like I did with Mumma, and you’re going to want everyone to know it. And also, when you’re apart, this is going to remind you of them. I know, right now, you think this is just a ring, but someday, when a girl slides this on your finger, you’re going to understand.”_

_“If I have to get married, I’d rather marry a boy.”_

_“Well, then,” his father said, “let’s hope he has plenty of brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, or little cousins, then. Either way, one day, you’ll fall in love, and once that person puts this on your finger, it’s going to be everything you’ve ever wanted, I promise.”_

_“I want to look at the chemistry sets."_

_Nodding, his father picked him up. “Alright, little one, but let’s find Mumma, first."_


End file.
